Should it be illegal to raise your child on a vegan diet?

18 Mars 2017 | 05:40

In the end of 2016, an Italian politician proposed a new law, the Savino Law. This law would make it possible for the government to sentence parents raising their children on a vegan diet to four years of prison. This law is somewhat of a consequence of two young children in Milan being hospitalised after an inadequate (vegan) diet.

Taking aside the fact that a child with their parent in jail might not have an ideal upbringing neither, what are your opinions? I think there are several different factors to consider.

First of all, if you are going to follow a vegan diet you need to really know what you’re doing. If you are going to raise a child on a vegan diet, even more so. Most people who are vegans do possess this knowledge, and in some countries, e.g. Sweden, being a vegan is becoming easier and easier as substitutes appear in the market. Furthermore, in many cases, a vegan diet is healthier than a traditional meat-based diet.

But some people unfortunately don’t have this knowledge. Some people really don’t know what they’re doing. And these people might be responsible for children. I really do think that any inadequate diet is harmful. Therefore, I do understand that there might have to be some way to “force” people to give their children proper food. And without regulatory measures, this is difficult to enforce. However, I do think it is a bit uneducated to think that this proper food would have to include meat. (The mother in Milan was forced to serve the children meat).

But what do you think? Is this law reasonable? Is it outrageous? I really don’t have an answer myself. From a personal perspective, I would find it ethically challenging to have to buy and prepare meat for my (hypothetical) children on a regular basis. Because then I would still support the meat industry I despite. I would probably then try to buy meat from small farms etc. but everyone does not have the economical opportunity to do so. I wouldn’t mind if my children wanted to eat meat in school, with friends etc., but I wouldn’t want to actually buy and prepare the meat.

What’s your opinion on this? Should the Italian government accept this law proposal?

Is it Okay to Correct Someone at the Gym?

11 Mars 2017 | 06:24

This Monday I saw a young boy working out with his mother (?) at my local gym and did not think much more of it. A little bit later however a very fit guy (why one could assume that he sure knew how to work out properly) approached the pair and asked how old the boy was.

“He’s twelve”, the mother replied vigilantly.

The very fit guy nodded. Then he proceeded to very calmly but firmly explain why such a young boy should not do such heavy lifting and how this would actually harm him. As far as I know this is true, but I did not expect anyone to intervene that way. To actually reflect on the boys age and proceed to tell him that what he was doing was dangerous. I was really impressed.

The mother on the other hand did not seem impressed as all, (which is understandable. I would not like to hear from a stranger that I was injuring my child), and they left shortly after.

The whole episode got me thinking. Is it okay to correct someone at the gym? Personally, I would of course want to know if I was injuring myself. I’m not very experienced, I could be doing something wrong. However, if I was doing something slightly wrong I might not appreciate the comment as much. Sometimes I don’t do the exercises perfectly because I get distracted or am tired. I know it’s bad but it’s not dangerous.

But in that case, where is the line? If doing something slightly wrong messes up the entire work out (i.e. it loses all effect), wouldn’t I want to know then? What do you think? Would you appreciate a correction?